Woman who couldn't read at 16 graduates with degree

A woman who could not read or write at 16 has earned a first class honours degree at university.

Chloe McRoberts from Ayr picked up her social work degree from Glasgow Caledonian University last week.

The 26-year-old struggled with "erratic behaviour" and access to learning support at school before she left without any qualifications.

She started again from scratch at a council-funded project and now hopes to support other children.

Ms McRoberts told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I'd realised I was dyslexic when I was around about primary three.

"And when I got to about primary six, my dad had passed away which only made things harder.

"I always had problems in the classroom, without just it being reading and writing and numbers.

"My behaviour was quite erratic and I was later diagnosed with ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]."

At secondary school, she was still unable to access the learning support she needed.

"I wasn't able to sit and work in the classroom, but I wanted to be there so much," she said.

"It was like things made sense inside my head but coming out and producing the work, it just didn't make sense.

"It built up so much frustration inside of me."

Her mum even quit her job to support her daughter, but Ms McRoberts eventually withdrew from school with no qualifications.

She was finally able to get the right help at South Ayrshire Council's Learning Shop project.

"They took me right back to basics," she said.

"Things like learning the alphabet, going over nouns and adjectives, even things you wouldn't consider - like building up the muscle strength in my arm to be able to write."

Despite feeling like she had fallen behind her peers, she was determined to catch up.

Ms McRoberts said: "I knew I had the drive [to go to university] but it did seem so far away.

"It took me over 10 years to get there. I am proud of myself, most definitely."

Now she works on a disability team which helps children across several schools.

"I also learned British Sign Language and I'm qualified in it too and I hope to eradicate that barrier for people as well," she said.

"I do hope to make a big difference - that is the plan."

She graduated with her first class degree last week and said it was hard to put into words how she felt.

"I'm beyond proud of myself, my whole family was incredibly proud of me too," she added.

"It was a highly emotional, surreal, amazing day."